Please fill in the Executive Summary in the MSELC Final report.

Intercultural Diversity (Evan)

Cultural diversity is prevalent in today’s workplace. The likelihood of members of an organization, customers, and clients coming from different cultural backgrounds is high. What is hard is effective communication with individuals who approach a similar problem by varying means. The manner in which an organization communicates internally and externally, therefore, should mirror the evolving demographic since communication is greatly influenced by culture. Organizations need to take into account cultural conventions like timing and tone to be effective.

Successful organizations accept diversity as a moral and legal obligation. Benefits are greater creativity and productivity due to improved morale. Employees respect and trust each other as a result. By accepting that different people approach common problems in from various perspectives, people learn to value their differences and appreciate the different viewpoints. Becoming confident involves learning to communicate and interact with large teams, small groups or in a one-on-one situation with people from different cultures. Establishing a diverse work philosophy enhances a sense of security and maximizes the productivity of employees. Training in negotiation skills helps individuals develop abilities to use conflict-reducing words.

Dealing with cross-culture communication entails including every person in the process. Employees can maintain a productive work environment by focusing on visible behavior rather than attitudes. By appropriate choice of words, employees can negotiate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds. By assisting employees to gauge their communication skills, employers enable staff to identify and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Conducting simulation games and workshops help members experience functioning by different rules and determine how to marry their differences to work together productively.

Becoming efficient at intercultural communication involves a conscious determination to avoid communication differences. Before interacting with people from different cultures, or during the conversation, one should ensure no preconceived biases or notions exist that may hamper the communication process. Effective strategies for intercultural communication enable people to work or live in different countries. It helps various departments cooperate better with each other or prepare a business for an acquisition or a merger.